Research | Department of Physics

A Matter of Time and Energy

Research in the Department of Physics is broadly concentrated in the experimental and theoretical study of condensed matter physics — a general term for the physics of solids, gases, and liquids. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, the Petroleum Research Fund, and many other prestigious sources, our foundational research has applications to fields ranging from engineering and medicine to renewable energy.

Faculty Research

Frequently collaborating with scientists at institutions across the globe, our physics faculty research areas of physics including superconductors, computational physics, granular matter, biophysics, active matter, and complex microbial ecosystems, all of which have implications for how we can better understand the natural world and adapt to its changes.

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Michael Boyer with graduate student at computer

Doctoral Research

Our small department and university allow for close collaboration among faculty and students, as well as interdisciplinary work with our research partners in biology, biochemistry and molecular biology, chemistry, and mathematics and computer science.

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Undergraduate and Fifth-Year Research

We encourage undergraduates to intern in a research group as soon as they are interested — as early as their first year.

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Research Facilities

Our teaching laboratories in electronics, optics, atomic and nuclear physics, materials science, and computer simulation are housed in the Arthur M. Sackler Sciences Center, along with research laboratories in condensed matter physics.

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Research Stories

Liana Shpani makes a quantum leap

Sophomore looks for patterns in the universe at a microscopic level

Curiosity drives senior’s traffic pattern research

Greg Jones uses physics technology, 3D printing to examine how backups form

The importance of superconductors

Professor Boyer's research has implications for scientific, health fields

Contact Information

Department of Physics

Office Location

Math-Physics Building, Physics
Room 241
950 Main Street
Worcester, MA 01610
1-508-793-7169
1-508-793-8861 Fax

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